“It’s good to see we are up there today, but it’s not always so important,” Vettel said. “We need to step up our game for tomorrow, as Mercedes will be strong in qualifying.

“I think we can still improve. Looking after the tires will be important here, especially during the race. The car works fine at the moment, but we need to make sure we set it up the right way.”

Teammate Mark Webber was also wary of Lotus’ pace in Japan after the Enstone-based team finished second and third in last weekend’s Korean Grand Prix.

“On one lap, it looks pretty tight with the Mercedes and with the Lotus’,” Webber said. “We have to be very accurate and if you’re not, then you get penalised. We have to find performance tonight, it’s our job to make improvements each day and we have a job to do tonight to find some more tenths.”